Millennial Culture Wars: All Work and No Play

Recently we wrote about the Millennial generation culture as it affects global society, today we’re taking a closer look at just what to expect from rising generations when they do what all must inevitably do: go to work.

Millennials are slowly filling the work place, from entry-level positions all the way up to leadership roles. With this comes an atmospheric shift and, unfortunately, a host of new problems. The stereotype of Millennials being entitled, or feeling anything menial is beneath them permeates the idea of their work ethic. Certain stories reinforce these stereotypes, with tales of brash and rude junior employees, or others who formulate egregious lies for some simple time off.

There is a strong clash between older and new generations in terms of work style. The older may prefer a phone call for correspondence, the newer might like a conversational twitter thread. But recent studies are showing that, though the method may be new, Millennials do have goals in mind at the work place and it isn’t just about making more money. The Harvard Business Review released an article highlighting INSEAD’s survey of Millennials from 43 different countries. The findings were not necessarily what you would expect. Though Millennials across the board do want a good work-life balance, they also have aspirations to reach leadership objectives—the myth of Millennials wanting everything to be handed to them isn’t necessarily true.

The survey did prove that Millennials want to be pushed; they want leaders who will propel and encourage them and they want to feel like the work they are doing matters on a global scale. Often this intense attitude is interpreted as something selfish or negative when in actuality it’s rooted in a form of altruism.

In reality, Millennials may not be the narcissistic, social-media immersed group that they’re initially thought to be. And though they do have a different work style and a broader outlook on the effectualness of work, the goal of living a meaningful life is still there. They do seek to be more individualistic than past generations.

One thing is for certain, though: Love them or hate them, Millennials are rising into leadership positions and they’re here to stay.